FRIENDS of a missing minister who vanished six months ago have raised cash for mountain rescuers in his memory.

Penarth’s United Reformed Church minister Reverend David Fox disappeared on a walking holiday in Slovenia in June.

Despite searches of mountains near where he was last seen, no trace of him has been found.

Rev Fox’s friend of 30 years and the leader of the URC in Wales, Rev Peter Noble, yesterday admitted 52-year-old Rev Fox was probably dead.

He said: “It’s an unfinished story because he hasn’t been found, but unless something extraordinary happens, we have accepted he’s not going to come back.

“I don’t say this lightly, but it’s about coming to terms with someone’s life and death.”

Rev Noble, of Caerphilly, began speaking about Rev Fox in the past tense four weeks ago.

“On the first Sunday of Advent, I led worship at Elfed Avenue (Rev Fox’s church) and made a deliberate, conscious decision to speak about David in the past tense publicly for the first time.

“It felt sad but, at the same time, the right thing to do.

“Realism strikes home at some point and, although I’m desperately sad about David, there’s also something about celebrating the person he was.”

United Reformed Church members at Rev Fox’s old churches in Penarth, Tenby, Flintshire and Bettws, Newport, have raised more than £1,000 for the Slovenian mountain rescue team, which spent a fortnight hunting for the churchman.

Rev Noble said: “They worked very hard for two weeks, doing detailed searches of the area they knew and they thought he could be in, so we thought it would be a good gesture to have a small collection to thank them for their work.”

He said Rev Fox would be remembered at this year’s Christmas Morning service in Penarth, where he led worship for seven years.

He said that, because Rev Fox’s body has not been found, his congregation have been unable to hold a funeral, leaving a gap in the grieving process.

“Obviously it would be very, very good to bring some closure, but what we have been able to do has been positive and people who knew David have appreciated the opportunity to remember him,” said Rev Noble.

“His family was the church and what we have done is focus on celebrating David’s life and ministry.